Archives for February 2012

‘”I was thinking to myself as I was running, ‘How in the world am I going to tackle this guy? I’m not going to bring him down,'” Beebe said in a phone interview this week. “I was literally going to jump on his back. Now, that would have been funny. But he made my job easy by sticking the ball out.”‘

‘Lindell was set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13, but the two sides have hammered out an agreement.’

‘Metzelaars, 51, spent the past two years as offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts. He lost his job on Jan. 17 when the Colts fired head coach Jim Caldwell. Metzelaars worked six years before that as offensive quality control coach for the Colts, and spent a lot of time learning under assistant coach Howard Mudd, one of the most veteran and respected offensive line coaches in the game.’

‘”I thought they might want to put me at speed end,” Dareus joked. “I’ll probably play 3-technique. Me and Kyle can play 3-technique or the shade.”‘

‘”I shouldn’t have said that,” said Brady, looking somewhat sheepish at his Thursday morning availability. “I apologize for saying that. I should have picked a non-NFL city for that (comment).”‘

‘Smith told the Globe and Mail during a telephone interview that when you think back to Buffalo’s Super Bowl appearances, one can either be a pessimist or an optimist. He prefers the latter.’

‘In response, one of the top hotels in Buffalo offered a free night’s stay to show him he’s wrong.’

‘The only hotels for Western New York large enough for visiting NFL teams, which need about 125 rooms, are the Buffalo Marriott, Hyatt Regency Buffalo, Embassy Suites or Adam’s Mark.’

‘During Wednesday’s media session before Sunday’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis, Brady knocked the quality of the hotels in the hometown of the Buffalo Bills, New England’s AFC East rival. He said, "they’re not the nicest places in the world."’

‘”I told (my agent) that I don’t want you to tell me about anything about the contract,” said Johnson. “You know how negotiations go. I don’t need to hear about this story or that story, this comment or that comment that came up. I’m just going to trust his work and do what I do in the offseason and let him bring me back what he’s got when it’s all finalized and that’s it.”‘

‘”Of course I’m hoping Buffalo will step up,” said Johnson, who will officially become a free agent on March 13. “But if not and I hit the market in free agency, then Buffalo is in the picture no matter what. But to be in free agency to see what other teams are saying, that’s also good.”‘

‘”This shows how much of a heart Stevie has,” Mark said. “This shows his compassion and how much he loves Buffalo. Even if he doesn’t return next year this just shows what kind of person he is and that will never change my perspective of him. It will only get better and better.”‘

‘It’s an image problem Bills and Sabres officials acknowledge. David Carroll, president of the Hotel Motel Association of Western New York, conceded the bleak drive along the 33 is a concern for hoteliers.’

‘The media session ended a few minutes later. I chased down Brady and asked if he considered Buffalo the worst hotel city in the league. He laughed and said, “No, they’re fine.” He said not to quote him because it might get him in trouble.’

‘How about that, his mom and dad would EVEN travel to Buffalo and stay in the rat traps they call hotels. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.’